The United States and Israel have chosen to reconvene a strategic working group on Iran, with the first round of intelligence negotiations around the Iranian nuclear program scheduled for the next few days, Axios learns.
Why does it matter: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have strongly contrasting views on the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, but the resumption of the working group is a sign that their governments are starting with serious and professional dialogue rather than a political struggle.
Flashback: The working group was established in the early days of the Obama administration after Netanyahu’s visit to the White House in 2009. The top secret forum was even given a special code name.
- It was the main venue for formulating strategies on how to apply pressure to Iran during Obama’s first term, and it became the main setting for manifesting disagreements over the nuclear deal during Obama’s second term.
- During Donald Trump’s term, the forum met to discuss the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and to coordinate the “maximum pressure” campaign.
- The forum is chaired by US and Israeli national security advisers – currently Jake Sullivan and Meir Ben-Shabbat – and includes senior officials from various national security, foreign policy and intelligence agencies in both countries.
Driving the news: Sullivan proposed to resume the working group on its first phone call with Ben-Shabbat on 23 January.
- Israel was involved in an inter-agency disagreement over how to engage with the White House over Iran, and the decision to accept the proposal was delayed by Israel’s domestic turmoil ahead of next month’s elections.
Behind the scenes: On Monday, Netanyahu held the first high-level interagency meeting on Iran with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and the heads of other national security and intelligence agencies.
- The meeting began with the various agencies providing updates on their commitments to date with the Biden administration, to provide a complete picture of what was discussed through the various channels, sources familiar with the meeting told me.
- Then came proposals on how to interact with the Biden government in the future. The directors of the Mossad intelligence agency and the Israel Defense Forces emphasized the need for silent dialogue, free from public confrontation.
- The main action item was the decision to accept the proposal to resume the working group.
What is the next: Israel’s top priority at the first meeting – which will take place via a secure videoconferencing system – is to expose all the latest information and data on Iran’s nuclear program and assess whether the US and Israeli intelligence images are aligned.
- Israeli sources familiar with the matter say that a baseline of mutual intelligence must be established before proceeding to political discussions.
The situation: Netanyahu expressed concern quickly last Friday, after Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States was prepared to start nuclear talks with Iran with the aim of restoring the 2015 agreement.